Sectors like tourism, hospitality, aviation, restaurant business are reeling under immense pressure because of the Covid-19 restrictions across all 548 districts in India. 

New Delhi, March 24:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday interacted with industry body representatives from ASSOCHAM, FICCI, CII and several local chambers from eighteen cities across the country in the wake of the novel coronavirus crisis.

The meeting was held via video conferencing and came at a time when many sectors are staring at huge losses and seeking immediate government assistance.

Principal secretary, cabinet secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry secretary and internal trade also participated in the important interaction session.

PM Modi said the government was working on giving a fillip to help companies survive during the crisis period.

He said the challenge posed by the pandemic is bigger than even that posed by the World Wars, and that there needs to be constant monitoring of the situation to limit Covid-19 from spreading in India.

Sectors like tourism, hospitality, aviation, restaurant business are reeling under immense pressure because of the Covid-19 restrictions across all 548 districts in India.

Restaurants have been shut for two weeks with most states under lockdown and citizens’ observing self quarantine.

NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India) has written to the finance minister asking for total and immediate deferment of all statutory dues, whether GST, advance Tax payments, customs duties at the central government level, and state excise and the renewal of liquor licenses and VAT at the state level for a period of twelve months or a year.

They have also asked for unemployment pay cover for employees. The ones who are at the lower end of the spectrum — and are covered under ESIC scheme — should be facilitated by the government through the corpus available with the ESIC or any other welfare scheme such as MNREGA.

Layoffs inevitable

According to Anurag Katriar, NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India) president, layoffs in the restaurant business are inevitable as restaurants are seeing a massive reduction in revenues.

Till date, 40-50 per cent of all restaurants in the country have been hit and the situation is expected to worsen as the lockdown continues.

Speaking with India Today TV, he said smaller establishments might shut shop permanently owing to mounting fixed costs.

“This is a crisis situation, in the restaurant business, 50 per cent of revenue is used fo cover the fixed costs. In the current situation with restaurants shutting their shutters, there is zero cash inflow. In simple terms, the owner is paying from his own pocket to sustain, but very few will be able to carry on like this, others will crumble under pressure,” Katriar said.

There are many other sectors that are facing the full jolt of the crisis, with aviation and tourism suffering most from the crisis.

Sources in the aviation sector told India Today TV that the sector has asked for a package of Rs 11,000 crores.

With international and domestic travel taking a hit, airlines are finding it difficult to operate and they have asked the government for help. Otherwise, experts believe many global airlines will go bankrupt in the next few months.

Industry bodies also informed PM Modi about the steps being taken by them to maintain supply lines of essential items and medical equipment including ventilators, assistance in the creation of isolation wards, utilization of CSR funds for combating Covid-19 and provision of assistance to migrant labour.

During the interaction, industry representatives apprised the PM about industry-specific issues.

Sectors like banking, finance, hospitality, tourism, infrastructure were discussed at length and a need for financial and fiscal assistance was reiterated.